Astrological Profiles of Prominence – William Shakespeare Part II
‘Give me my robe, put on my crown; I have Immortal longings in me’ – William Shakespeare
Who knows from which unknown quarter inspiration doth come, like a welcome houseguest, first disguising himself as a nuisance ’til our minds and hearts no longer can contain. Shakespeare was blessed with inspiration like a bottomless well. It is a wonder that his quill ever did cease. How can we measure such a gift in astrological terms? Imagine the depth of an ocean, then a force which must guide one to the very bottom, the journey tedious, but blessed with a pearl. Then we have it. Neptune is the Lord of the Seas, and also the ruler of Pisces. They don’t come much deeper than Pluto as far as deep sea divers in search of the Oyster of Truth. Shakespeare was born into a generation with Pluto placed in the watery sign of Pisces. But, also, in his case, his natal Pluto formed a harmonious aspect with his ascendant, or rising sign.
Pluto, in William’s case was in the ninth house of higher wisdom, intuition and inspiration. In addition to occupying the Waters of Pisces, it was transiting the lunar mansion of Purva Bhadrapada, a highly inspiring asterism bearing the gift of mediumistic inspiration. His ascendant was in Cancer, and the lunar mansion of Punarvasu. Punarvasu brings invigoration. Both of these lunar mansions, ruled by Jupiter offer fathomless creativity.
Not only did Shakespeare have a mediumistic quality to his creative process, as the driving force behind his quill, was a vivid imagination spurred by a triple conjunction between the Moon, Neptune and Venus. The Moon rules the conceptual quality of the mind, Neptune the imagination and Venus artistic talents. All three are placed in the mentally active sign of Gemini and transit the extremely creative lunar mansion of Rohini, which also has the potential of increasing the energies of planets with which it comes into contact. These are all opposed by a highly adventurous Uranus in Sagittarius and the lunar mansion of Jyeshtha, which provided Shakespeare with a higher perspective with which to map out the details pulled from the sea of his creativity.
Shakespeare was a man devoted to his craft, and was likely consumed by his passion for proliferation. His natal Saturn conjuncts Jupiter in Cancer and the lunar mansion of Pushya, suggesting that he poured himself wholeheartedly into his work. It was a sacred act.
There are souls who must put forth effore to develop their abilities, and then there are the rare ones who are so enveloped in their gifts, that there is no separation between the creator and the creation. Their creativity is their spirituality. Such was the case with William Shakespeare. His Immortal Longings were a natural byproduct of his being. His passion inherited from the Cosmos, and handed down in verse for centuries to come. His words, and soul, are timeless.
